I haven’t talked about baseball in these parts for a long time. Mostly because — and I wish I could explain why — I’m not as enthralled by my team, the Braves, as I once was. Perhaps it’s my proximity to RFK and the Nationals. The Braves are predictably and monotonously good-but-not-great once again this season; I’m resigned to the fact that they’ll disappoint, like they always do, this post-season. Why get excited?
At any rate, Mike W., a tried-and-true Red Sox fan, has been giving me a hard time for not mentioning how close the playoff races are in both divisions. In the AL, only the Angels have clinched; they’ll likely play the ChiSox. Then it’s looking like the Indians would play either the Yanks or the BoSox — but really, it’s anyone’s game, what with things knotted up with just five games to play.
Over on the NL side, the Braves and the Cardinals have clinched playoff spots, and Atlanta will probably play Houston, with the Padres squaring off against the Cards.
So there you have it. My reluctant and (if I may say so myself) rather uninspired baseball post. Sorry. I’ll try to kick-start my enthusiasm in the coming weeks.

File under: Another Reason to Laugh at Bill O’Reilly: he doesn’t understand basic market economics.
Big Bad Bill on “the price of a gallon of gasoline”:
Every time I ask who sets the price I get “the market”, “the Merc”, “OPEC”, and on and on. Well it’s all B.S. Somebody tells your local gas station owner exactly what to charge. Somebody does that.
Um. Well, no.
(Via Hit & Run.)
Bill+O’Reilly

If the US wants to get serious about public health, perhaps we should take a page out of Bangkok’s book and start offering free outdoor aerobics classes.
Must be a Southeast Asian thing — I’ve seen it done in Vientiane, Laos:

aerobics, Thailand, Bangkok, Laos

PetsInUniform.com: “Imagine: your dog, cat, or other pet in full military regalia. I make this fantasy a reality….”
(Via Memepool.)

CNN:
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — The airliner circled Southern California for hours, crippled by a faulty landing gear, while inside its cabin 140 passengers watched their own life-and-death drama unfolding on live television.
While satellite TV sets aboard JetBlue Flight 292 were tuned to news broadcasts, some passengers cried. Others tried to telephone relatives and one woman sent a text message to her mother in Florida attempting to comfort her in the event she died.
“It was very weird. It would’ve been so much calmer without” the televisions, Pia Varma of Los Angeles said after the plane skidded to a safe landing Wednesday evening in a stream of sparks and burning tires. No one was hurt.
Funny: I thought TV sets in airplanes had “off” buttons.
Man places empty speech bubble stickers on ads in New York City. Hilarity ensues.